Ghosts
by Kara
Summary: Tag to "And Jesus Brought a Casserole"--As her life ends, Max hears ghosts from her past...


Ghosts  
By Kara (anyalindir@aol.com) 

Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: Up to "And Jesus Brought a Casserole"  
Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs to Fox and Cameron, Max belongs to Logan, and an '85 Blazer belongs to me. :)  
A/N: For Nace, cuz this one was better than last night's. And because he kinda gave me the idea. *g*   


~*~*~*~*~*~ 

_ Logan?_

She swam in darkness--one minute, her fleshed pressed against his as they consummated their love, the next, alone in a sea of black. 

_ This isn't bad._

She could feel his hands brush across her chest, touching the burning place above her heart. She'd dreamed sometimes, of his hands touching her there, feeling the palm of his hand over the beating of her heart. But for some reason, her heart wasn't beating the way it was supposed to. 

_ Logan._

Her mouth wouldn't form the words. And she had to tell him. She had to, or else she might not ever get the chance. 

_ It's okay, you're going to be all right. _

Was it? All right was the dream she'd had, his flesh touching hers, her two worlds melding into one. Freedom. Seeing happily ever after. And now... 

She'd ruined their chance at that. 

_ I'm sorry. _

_ No, no, no. We're gonna get you out of here. It's gonna be all right. _

There was something about herself, seeing herself as she'd been, at Manticore. But it wasn't the person she'd been, ten years before. The girl she'd seen had empty eyes-eyes that knew nothing but Manticore. Eyes that didn't realize they were imprisoned. Eyes that would never love anyone. 

She struggled for a moment, trying to sit up. 

_ There's something I have to tell you. I should've said something a long time ago. _

The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. 

_ It can wait. _

Logan. 

But it couldn't. Not now. Not when she could feel her heart forcing the blood through her body, struggling for each beat of live. 

_ Max._ His voice was urgent now, almost as if he realized. 

But the words never came. Only black. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

She could hear him calling sometimes, in the black. Her name echoed over and over again. 

Max. Max? Max! No... 

And then the sound of weeping. 

Sometimes, she swore she heard Zack's voice as well. Her big brother had always watched out for her, even after she chose another man. Zack never gave up, even after he thought he would. 

She heard a lot of different voices, but no matter how hard she searched, she never found anyone. Sometimes, it was Tinga. Sometimes it was a voice that she swore was her mothers. And always Logan's voice, and flashes of what they'd shared together. 

Every kiss. Every touch. 

And sometimes, there were other images... 

The blue lady, her heart crying blood. 

Faces of her brothers and sisters. 

Every tear she'd ever cried since Manticore. 

Sharp pains in her chest, lightning forcing life back into her body... 

And the voice of Zack... 

_ It won't do her any good. She's an X-5._

A touch to her face. 

_ Fight them, Maxie. Promise me you'll fight them. _

And what could've been a touch to her cheek, or a brother's kiss. 

_ X5599, I've got a heart for you._

And a shot. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

When she awoke, the weight form her chest was gone. But the cold iron of shackles bound her wrists. She didn't know where she was, but she knew it couldn't be good. 

"Careful. You'll pull a stitch." 

That voice, the smell of antiseptic and stark white walls and fear. 

"Where am I?" 

"I think you know." 

Of course she knew. There was something in her genetic code that would always know. This was Manticore, the place that created her. The place that destroyed her. 

"You won't win. I'll never be one of them again." Not like Brin, not like Tinga... 

The blond bitch taped cold sensors to her chest. And the room flooded with the sound of a heart beating... 

The woman had the look of ecstasy, orgasm after exquisite sex. "Listen to that..." Her voice was almost a croon. "It's strong, isn't it? That is the heart of a soldier. A leader." There was a triumphant look in the woman's cold eyes. "A martyr." 

Max could feel the heart fluttering in her chest, pounding as the sound grew stronger and stronger. 

"Turn it off." 

But the woman made no move to turn off the monitor. "He was quite a man, your brother Zack. He must've loved you very much." 

The heart began to contract even faster, almost in defiance of its strength. Max knew what was coming. She knew, but she didn't want to believe it. 

The look on the woman's face was triumphant. "To make the sacrifice." 

"Turn it off!" Zack, her big brother, someone who loved her enough to make sure that she had a chance, to bring down the hell that had created them... 

"Isn't it comforting to know that a part of him lives on it you, and that you've both come home to us? To me?" The woman purred as she stroked the heart monitor. 

_ Fight it, Maxie..._

Max lay back on the stretcher, knowing that it was no use to struggle against the iron restraints. She heard the click of the door shut behind the woman, felt the shudders come as her body realized where it was again. Manticore. Place of nightmares, spawn of Frankenstein's children. 

_ Promise me you'll fight it..._

"Logan?" She whimpered softly, her body beginning to shiver more violently. The repressive white span of wall seemed to be pressing in on her, her heart practically jumping out of her chest. 

His voice echoed through the memories of black. 

_ Max? Max!_ The sound of weeping, over and over... 

The echo of a heart beating... 

Sometimes it seems like it happened to someone else, like maybe it was a story she'd heard a long time ago, from Ben or one of the others, after lights out... 

_ ...a story I'd heard... I just hope that she's okay... _

_ Fight it, Max... _

It'll be okay... 

_ We'll have all the time in the world._

  
  
The End


End file.
